A New Focus to Our Cooking! (For Awhile Anyway)

If you're a faithful reader, you may have noticed that we haven't posted for 3 days, thus breaking our year-plus record of never missing a day of blogging.  There is a reason for this.

Somehow Jeffrey and I haven't adapted to our usual fall routine, wherein we both work late twice a week, and also put in Sunday work hours.  I'm not sure why we're not jumping back into formation, but we *have* been making time to do things we enjoy, so that we're not always slogging away at the grindstone.  After work hours we play cards, I've been going to a knitting class, and we've been busy practically every Thursday for a month with something else (more on that in a bit). Doing this has actually translated into even more late nights in Des Moines, and we've found that our commute has become more burdensome than ever.  And it's not even winter yet!

That brings me to our Thursday jaunts.  We've been house-hunting, in Des Moines (that's the Thursday night activity)  We've seen some really spooky-bad houses, as we've tried to find a home in a neighborhood that's 1: not scary, 2:  is convenient for our jobs, and 3:  is affordable.  It's been kind of fun, looking at all the different kinds of homes people make.  We finally found one that might be workable, although it has its share of problems. 

The biggest problem is scraping up a down payment when our own house isn't ready to sell.  Before you try to convince me what a very bad idea it is to buy a house when you still owe on another, I might tell you that our current house payment is less than a car payment.  Anybody's car payment.  One realtor even suggested that we keep our small-town abode as a weekend home (!!!!), and it was all I could do not to laugh out loud.  But hey, in this market, you never know!

So, we have had to do a rethinking of our budget.  With so many extra hours away from home, it's become very difficult to cook on a regular basis. Yet- we have to start to make better attempts to do this, because we have to save every penny we can, and eating out is expensive (and not very interesting to read about on a cooking blog!).

So, I give you tonight's dinner:  Grilled cheese sandwiches and a Caesar salad.  Neither of which require recipes. 

Our food budget has room for drastic cuts, and now we've got excellent motivation to do so.  I would love to read your suggestions for low cost meals.    Please help?

Thanks!

Juli

Chicken Pot Pie with Savory Crumble Topping

Today I revisited a recipe we discussed some time back, Chicken Pot Pie with Savory Crumble Topping.  Last time I made it with turkey, but this time we made it as per the recipe, with chicken. It turned out just as excellent as last time.   Indeed, this is one of the most reliably good recipes I've found.

The recipe was originally printed in the September/October 2010 issue of Cook's Illustrated.  It has also been featured on the America's Test Kitchen TV show.  I've seen the recipe mentioned elsewhere, which isn't surprising, given how good it is.

Some unusual ingredients for a dish of this sort - Parmesan cheese, tomato paste, mushrooms and soy sauce - give this pot pie a really rich flavor with lots of depth.  The rich sauce and tender bits of chicken and vegetables are all good, but the crumble topping - made with lots of butter and cream, plus Parmesan and seasonings - is what really makes this pot pie stand out.

I could go on and say a lot more, but really, the best thing I can say about this recipe is that it comes with our highest recommendation.  We love it, and we're sure you will too.

Scalloped Potatoes with Ham

Sunday was hot outside, nearly 90 degrees.  But  I was hungry for food that would be more appropriate for a much cooler day.  I decided Scalloped Potatoes sounded perfect, but I didn't have a recipe. Jeffrey thought scalloped potatoes would make a nice side dish, but I wanted it as the main course, so I decided to add ham.

I didn't have a recipe.  I've tried several over the years, and have been disappointed by all of them. I think it's the onions used in so many of the versions that I just don't care for.  I decided to work up my own recipe without even a trace of onion!  I may have gone a little overboard on the quantities, because usually if I go to the trouble to cook, I want to have lots of leftovers to freeze for work lunches.  Feel free to cut the recipe in half if you like.

Juli's Scalloped Potatoes with Ham

Makes (2) 9 x 13 casseroles

5 pounds potatoes
4 cups cooked ham, diced (about 2 pounds)
1 tablespoon ready to use minced garlic
4 cups shredded extra-sharp cheese- don't buy pre-shredded!
1 1/2 cups butter
1 cup flour
3 cups skim milk
3 cups heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1.  Peel the potatoes and slice as thinly as possible.  This is super-easy (and quick!) to do with a food processor, using a slicing blade.  Just peel the potatoes and cut lengthwise to fit your machine's feed tube.  I used our smaller processor and did two batches.

2.  For the ham, I bought a 2 1/2 pound unsliced packaged ham.  I cut about 3/4 of it into thick slices, and cubed the slices.  I have at least 1/2 a pound left, which I will leave in one big chunk until I decide how I'm going to use it.  Or, if I can't decide, I could cube it and freeze it and use it later for a fall or winter soup.

3.  In a very large mixing bowl mix all the potato slices, 4 cups of cubed ham, and garlic.  Mix well, using a big spoon, and making sure the potato slices are mostly separated.  Place the mixture in (2) 9 x 13 glass baking dishes.

4.  Grate 4 cups of sharp cheddar cheese.  I used Cabots Extra Sharp cheese.  We buy the 2 pound packages and try to always keep them on hand.  You could use a food processor for this, but Jeffrey was helping me out, and he likes to use a box grater.Set grated cheese aside.

4.  In a Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat.  Stir in flour until mixture is smooth.  Gradually add milk and cream, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and bubbles- a silicone whisk is perfect for this.  Add cheese, salt and pepper;  stir until the cheese is fully melted.

5.  Pour about 4 cups of the cheese sauce over each casserole dish.  Stir gently to mix in.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-60 minutes.  The potatoes on the top of the casserole will have started to brown very slightly.

For a zippier version, consider adding 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, or a hot sauce, such as Cholula.  I served the scalloped potatoes with cooked green beans from the Knoxville Farmer's market.  The plain boiled green beans, garnished with just a little butter, made a nice contrast to the rich, cheesy potatoes.

Food Nostalgia: Spaghetti Rice

The most recent potluck lunch at my workplace had a theme very appropriate to August:  State Fair and Back to School Food.  I figured (correctly) that several of my colleagues would go with state fair favorites such as corn dogs and chili dogs, so I decided to go with some sort of school food, and while thinking about some possibilities, I remembered something I hadn't thought about in a long time:  Spaghetti Rice.

The name is something of a misnomer, as there isn't any spaghetti in the dish at all.   It's sort of like spaghetti with meat sauce, but with it all mixed together and topped with a bit of cheese, and using rice in place of the spaghetti.   The story was that one of the lunch ladies came up with the idea, and it became a hit.   From an adult POV, I'm sure it was a hit with the lunch ladies because it would be quicker and easier to serve up scoops of sauced rice than it would be to serve up spaghetti and then top it with sauce, but it was also a hit with the kids.   It's one of the few things they served in the school cafeteria while I was growing up that I remember with fondness.

So, with those fond memories in mind, I decided to try to recreate that school-time favorite.  In doing so, I decided to go real simple.   When you're trying to feed hundreds of kids, you don't make fancy sauces.   I'm pretty certain they just cooked up big pots of rice, browned some hamburger, stirred the hamburger into big pots full of spaghetti sauce from the big, institutional-sized cans and mixed it all together.  So, that's the way I approached this recipe.   I started with cheap, plain store-bought pasta sauce (Hy-Vee's store brand), long grain white rice and some browned hamburger, plus some fine-shredded supermarket-brand cheese (mild cheddar, since that's what the lunch ladies topped the spaghetti rice with back in the day).  To decided I'd have to spruce that up a bit to make it tolerable to my more mature and experienced palate, though, so I tossed in some garlic, freshly-ground black pepper and crushed red pepper flakes.  Still, it was very fast and easy to prepare.

I am very pleased with the results.   My creation tastes just like what I remembered from my school lunch days.   It's nothing complex or sophisticated, but the simplicity has a charm of its own.   I did find it a tiny bit too sweet for my tastes (the store sauces use a fair bit of sugar), but Juli really liked that, and the sweetness wasn't enough to put me off.   It turned out to be popular with my colleagues, and several commented positively.

Spaghetti Rice

yield = 10-12 servings

2                pounds ground beef (90% lean)
2                tablespoons minced garlic
2 1/2          jars (24 ounces) pasta sauce
1                teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
1/2             teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
14              cups cooked white rice (still warm)
2                cups finely-shredded mild cheddar cheese

Add the beef to a large Dutch oven over medium heat.   Cook the meat until it is evenly browned, stirring often and using the side of a wooden spoon to break up large chunks of meat.   Clear a spot in the middle of the pan, add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant (about 45 seconds).  Stir the garlic into the meat, then add and stir in the pasta sauce, black pepper and red pepper flakes.  Heat until bubbling, then reduce heat, cover and let simmer for about 5 minutes.   Add the cooked rice to the Dutch oven and stir evenly combine the rice and meat sauce.   Serve, topping individual servings with a generous sprinkle of cheese.

Basic Crepes

When I was fresh out of college, I made these crepes a lot.  They're inexpensive, easily made from ingredients on hand, and very filling.

Basic Crepes
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk

Measure flour and sugar out into large mixing bowl.  Stir together.  Add eggs and milk and mix well.  I used a whisk, but a fork will work, too.

I use a very small non-stick fry pan to make these.  The small size means I get a nice round shape every time.  If you're using a larger fry-pan, be prepared for more creative shapes to emerge as you pour batter into the hot pan.

I had to experiment with the burner temperature, since this is the first time I've made these on this stove.  My glass top stove's burners go from 1-9, and then "high".  I found that setting 7 worked the best for me.  You want the pan to be hot enough so that you get a lightly browned crepe, somewhat like a pancake.  Experiment until you find what works best for you.

Heat your frypan, and then grease it.  I use a butter-flavored cooking spray so I don't get overly greasy crepes.  Pour just over 1/4 cup batter into the pan.  I use a 1/2 cup measure as a dipper, and fill it just over half full.  Swirl the pan so that any excess batter will be moved to the edges of the pan and won't stay in the middle.  Cook until the bottom of the crepe is a golden brown.  Flip the crepe with a heat-resistant spatula, and cook a short time longer.  The second side won't be as brown as the first.  You just want to make sure that there is no uncooked batter on the second side. 



Just after adding batter, swirl so that excess doesn't settle in the middle.



Ready to flip!



If your pan isn't quite hot enough, you'll have a cooked crepe that doesn't brown, which will look pasty and pale, like the one on the left here:

When both sides of the crepe are cooked, remove to a plate.  Spread with filling of your choice, then roll the crepe into a tube shape.  My favorite fillings include pressurized cheese-in-a-can (the kind that you use to top crackers with), chunky peanut butter, or fruit jam or preserves.  This is a nice way to serve chicken a'la King, too.  I re-spray the fry pan every time I cook another crepe, so nothing ever sticks.  This recipe made more than enough for the two of us.  Be sure to eat while the crepes are warm!

Pepperoni Casserole

Saturday night Jeffrey and I wanted to go see Thor at our local movie theater ($5 tickets, one of the benefits of small town living!), so I made dinner early so we wouldn't have to rush to get there.  The weather was still fairly chilly-unlike last Tuesday, when it was 92 degrees- and I thought this easy casserole sounded good.  To make the dinner a little more healthy, add a green salad.


Pepperoni Casserole

1 pound penne pasta
1 26.5 ounce can spaghetti sauce
1 3.5 ounce package sliced pepperoni
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided into 1 cup and 2 cup portions
Prepared garlic bread in foil bag

This is a great casserole to make if you have hungry teenagers, or are serving dinner to your children's sleepover friends.  Almost every older kid likes pepperoni and cheese.  Because the pepperoni is fairly spicy already, you won't even have to add additional spices to the dish.  I think this would also go over very well at a potluck.

All the ingredients except the pasta!

You can see from my picture here that I'm all about using up what ingredients I have.  Jeffrey likes his dishes to have a certain look, but I didn't mind mixing up the three already-opened boxes of pasta that were in our little pantry.  So in the picture you'll see penne, bowties, and mini lasagne pasta. You can use whatever medium-sized shapes you have on hand.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F.).  Cook the pasta until slightly al dente (not quite cooked all the way through) and drain.  Put pasta in a Dutch oven or other oven-safe cooking pot.  Add the spaghetti sauce and mix well.  Separate all the pepperoni and put them individually in the pasta mixture, mix again.  Add 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, stir well.  Top with the remaining 2 cups of mozzarella cheese.  Bake for 45 minutes.  Put the garlic bread in the oven, and bake both the casserole and the garlic bread an additional 15 minutes (1 hour total bake time for the casserole).



Chicken Fried Steak with Gravy

I've written before about my attempts to make a good chicken fried steak.  My previous attempts haven't been dreadful, but they haven't been fully satisfying, either.   Thankfully, I think I've finally found a chicken fried steak recipe we can be satisfied with.

I started out with a really good chicken fried steak recipe featured recently at one of our favorite blogs, One Perfect Bite.  It was a pretty basic recipe, but I felt satisfied with using it as a place to start, since Mary's recipes turn out pretty reliably good.   At the same time, I saw some things I knew I'd want to do differently, mostly regarding seasoning.   I figured I'd follow Mary's cooking instructions, but insert some additional seasonings of my own.  I started by just adding a bit of seasoning to the breading, but as Juli and I worked on the gravy, we ended up bolstering that with a fair bit of extra seasoning, too. 

We were happy with how this turned out.   The steaks were cooked just right, the breading was crisp and tasty and the gravy was just plain excellent.

After making these, I checked out some of the links on Mary's blog (one of the neat features of her blog is that her entries include links to other bloggers' versions of the same recipe).  I did see one idea on one of those blogs that I will probably try out next time I make chicken fried steak.  Cooking by the Seat of My Pants suggests soaking the steak pieces in buttermilk for at least four hours (preferably overnight) to tenderize the meat, and to give the steaks a bit of tangy buttermilk flavor.   That sounds pretty good to me, so I'll probably give that a shot at some point and report back on how it went. 

Chicken Fried Steak with Gravy

yield = 4 servings

2         pounds beef bottom round roast, trimmed of excess fat
           salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste
1 1/2   cups all-purpose flour
3/4      teaspoon garlic powder
1/8      teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8      teaspoon baking powder
3         eggs, beaten
1/4      cup vegetable oil
2         cups chicken broth
1/2      cup whole milk
1/2      teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1/4      teaspoon onion powder
1/4      teaspoon paprika
1/2      teaspoon dried sage

Preheat oven to 225 degrees.

Cut beef with the grain into half-inch thick slices.  Season each piece on both sides with salt and pepper.   Place flour, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, cayenne pepper and baking powder into a low, flat bowl or pie plate and mix thoroughly.  Place eggs into another low, flat dish.

Dredge meat slices through the flour mixture on both sides.  Thoroughly tenderize and flatten the meat slices until each is 1/4 inch thick.   Once tenderized and flattened, dredge meat again in flour mixture, then in the eggs and finally in the flour again.  Place meat on a rack and allow it to sit 10-15 minutes before cooking.

Pour enough vegetable oil (approximately 1/4 cup) into a large skillet to cover the bottom of the skillet.  Heat at medium high until shimmering, then add meat in batches, being careful to not overcrowd the pan.  Cook each piece of meat on both sides until golden brown, approximately 4 minutes per side.  Transfer steaks to a wire rack set on a baking sheet and place in oven to keep warm.  Repeat until all the steaks are cooked.

Add oil to skillet to total of 1 tablespoon.   Add 3 tablespoons of the flour mixture left over from dredging.  Add chicken broth and whisk until the gravy boils and starts to thicken. 

Add milk, thyme, remaining 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and sage and whisk until the gravy is thick.  Add more salt and pepper to season to taste.  Serve the gravy over the steaks. 

I served the Chicken Fried Steak with Jo Jo Potatoes, made with a recipe from the current issue of Cook's Country, and carrots.    Jo Jo Potatoes are potato wedges baked with a coating of panko crumbs and seasoning.   Apparently they're popular in the east coast (though not the northeast). 

I thought the recipe looked and sounded pretty good, but the result was not so great.   In fact, the potatoes weren't very good at all.   The flavors of the coating didn't sink into the potatoes at all, and the coating itself was dry and crumbly.   I won't be making those again, and can't really recommend the recipe.   In fact, it was possibly the worst thing I've ever made from a Cook's Illustrated or Cook's Country recipe.  Thankfully the Chicken Fried Steak and Gravy was plenty filling on its own, and so good that even the not-good potatoes could spoil the meal. 

Five-Cheese Macaroni with Ham

Macaroni and cheese is one of the most common comfort foods.  Some people swear by the version mom or grandma used to make, whereas others swear by the version that comes from a blue box, or perhaps the version served up as a side at that favorite rib shack, but in the US at least, if you ask people to list their go-to comfort foods, more people than not will list some take on mac and cheese. 

I've had a lot of good versions of mac and cheese over the years, but so far I haven't really found one I'd consider the "best" version.  That doesn't keep me from trying to find one, though. 

Most of the best versions I've tried have included a mix of different cheeses, so I figured that was a good place to start.  After considering several options, I went with sharp cheddar backed up with Colby for robust, cheesy flavor, plus mozzarella, Monterrey jack and American cheese for creamy texture and rich, more complex flavor.   I figured that mix of cheeses and a bit of seasoning added to a base sauce of butter, flour and milk ought to do the trick.

I went back and forth on whether or not to add some ham or bacon to the mix.  I've often liked versions of mac and cheese including either of those ingredients, but I've also disliked a few versions.   Ultimately I decided to go with just a bit of ham, enough to add an accent to the dish without dominating it. 

I ended up with a big pot of mac and cheese with rich cheese flavor and great texture.   I went a bit too heavy on the onion the first time around, so the amount listed below is dialed back from there, and should be just right. 

I'm going to continue my search for a favorite mac and cheese recipe, but this one is pretty good... maybe even good enough to be a personal favorite.   Give it a try and see for yourself.

Five-Cheese Macaroni with Ham

yield = 8 servings

1          pound uncooked macaroni (or cavatappi or similar pasta)
1          teaspoon salt + 1/2 teaspoon
3          tablespoons unsalted butter
1          tablespoon grated fresh onion
1/2       teaspoon garlic
6          tablespoons all-purpose flour
1          teaspoon dry mustard, dissolved in 1 teaspoon water
1          teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
1/8       teaspoon cayenne pepper
2          cups whole milk
1/2       cup chicken broth
8          slices (approx. 6 ounces) American cheese
8          ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
4          ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
2          ounces Colby cheese, shredded
2          ounces Monterrey jack cheese, shredded
1/2       pound ham steak, diced into 1/4" bits

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat a medium-size (5 quarts or larger) Dutch oven with nonstick cooking spray.  Add 5 quarts of water and 1 teaspoon of salt to a stock pot and bring to a boil.  When the water comes to a boil, prepare the pasta per package directions.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  When the butter is steaming, add the grated onion.  Cook 4 minutes, then stir in the garlic and cook 30 seconds.   Stir in the flour and cook until browned (about 1 minute), then stir in the mustard-water mixture, black pepper, cayenne pepper and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Whisk in milk and chicken broth, bring to a simmer and cook 2 minutes. 

Add the cheddar, Colby, Monterrey jack and mozzarella cheese to a bowl and mix.

One slice at a time, tear bits off the American cheese and whisk them into the milk mixture.  When all the American cheese is incorporated, whisk in the cheddar cheese mixture, 1/2 cup at a time until it is all incorporated into the sauce. 

When the pasta is done, drain it and place it in the Dutch oven.   Add the chopped ham steak and the cheese sauce to the Dutch oven and stir with a rubber spatula to thoroughly mix.

Place the Dutch oven in the oven uncovered and cook 20 minutes.  Increase the oven heat to broil and cook 2-3 minutes or until the pasta-cheese mixture is lightly browned on top.  Remove from the oven and cool for a couple minutes before serving.

Comfort Food: Cream Dried Beef

I had to have some dental surgery last week, and consequently have been eating a lot of soft food ever since- mashed potatoes, pudding, and jello.  I had a lot of things to do this week at work, and probably pushed myself more than I should have, so I had to take Friday off work as a sick day.  Dental pain can be just unrelenting!


At lunchtime I made an old favorite that doesn't require much chewing.  Cream Dried Beef is sometimes referred to in polite company as S.O.S., but I've always liked it.  My husband doesn't share the love.  Maybe you had to grow up with it.

This recipe is very easy to make, as long as you pay attention to the cream sauce.  Also, if you're unfamiliar with dried beef, it's found in the packaged cold cuts section of the grocery store.  I like Ulrich's Dried Beef, which is made just down the road in Pella, Iowa, but other companies also sell it.  It tastes a little bit like pastrami.

Cream Dried Beef - Serves 1 or 2

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 cups milk

2.5 ounces dried beef

In a small saucepan, melt the butter on low heat.  Stir in the flour, salt, and pepper.  Cook over low heat, stirring constantly. 

When the mixture begins to bubble, remove from heat and stir in the milk very slowly.

Put the saucepan back on the heat, and heat until boiling, stirring the entire time.  If you get lazy with the stirring, you'll end up with a less than smooth sauce, and the floury chunks taste a lot like library paste (ask me how I know!).

Take the dried beef out of its packaging.  It's sliced very thinly, and all you have to do is crumble it into small pieces into the bubbling white sauce.

Stir the dried beef into the sauce, and while you're waiting for it to get warmed up by the sauce, toast the desired amount of bread.  When making this dish for just one person, 2 slices of bread is enough.  The recipe makes enough to feed 2 people if you toast 2 slices of bread per person., but since I was home alone, the cats were happy to have my leftover sauce. They don't care much for toast, so I didn't make them any. 

Cut the toasted bread into bite-sized squares.

Then cover with the creamed beef mixture.  I like to sprinkle extra black pepper on top.